Pumps are commonly used for dispensing liquids and gases from small hand held personal care containers, especially fragrances, sunscreens, insect repellants and the like. Typically, a personal care product will have a container of product and a pump and actuator assembly affixed to the container. In the type of pump known as an atmospheric pump, a dip stick extends into the container and in contact with the flowable composition. When the pump is actuated, pressure within the container forces the liquid up through the dip stick, through a valve seated on the container, and out through an outlet orifice which is usually on the actuator button. In some embodiments, the exit orifice is on the collar portion. A coiled metal spring is usually disposed between the actuator button and the container body and surrounding the exit tube to provide a counterforce when the actuator button is engaged by the user. The dip stick, valve, and pump assembly are not intended to be reused and are intended to be disposed of with the container when the product is depleted from the container.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a living hinge actuator that can actuate a pump mechanism. It is a further object of the invention to provide a pump actuator for a personal care container, of the type adapted to actuate an atmospheric pump, which may be removably affixed to a plurality of containers having a valve and dipstick assembly, such that the actuator engages and opens the valve when depressed by force from a user's finger or thumb, and closes the valve when the force is released. It is a further object of the invention to provide a system comprising a reusable actuator and a plurality of containers to which the actuator may be reversibly secured to enable dispensing of fluid contents from the plurality of containers, wherein each container comprises a reservoir charged with a flowable personal care product (e.g., a fragrance composition), a valve affixed to said container, and a dipstick in fluid communication with the charge of flowable product and the valve. Advantageously, the system reduces the number of parts required for manufacture of each fragrance container and enables the pump assembly to be used with refillable or replaceable product cartridges or containers.
The foregoing discussion is presented solely to provide a better understanding of the nature of the problems confronting the art and should not be construed in any way as an admission as to prior art nor should the citation of any reference herein be construed as an admission that such reference constitutes “prior art” to the instant application.